PIXL Designs

Do you ever go through a period in life where everything seems so fragile in this world?

For a split second you can reflect on things that have eternal significance. You catch your breath while letting life slow down.

And then the slightest break in that rhythm occurs. And throws it all away.

We are human. But why do we allow something so pristene to be lost in time to something so trivial?

We may never know those answers. But tonight I experienced just that. My question of the week this week: why?

Back in my college days I would lay awake at night and wonder about the future. My future has arrived and now I don’t really dwell on that as much.

Except for tonight.

Really I’m not thinking so much about the future as I am wondering if this is all life is about. Things have been so mundane lately and the daily stresses of life have really not helped.

Did I lose my passion somewhere alon the way? Or is this a chance for me to catch my breath before the next big life journey begins?

Of course all of this makes no sense to anyone reading. But I am going to start opening my blog up to reflect more on what God is doing within me than trying to always add my wisdom to the world conversation.

My hope right now is for love to conquer all. Love from Jesus. Love for Jesus. Love for my wife. Love for my daughter. And love for friends and family.

Maybe it will all start to make sense then.

So I have fasted from blogging for a while now as I’m sure you have noticed. My reason: life got busy.

Life often gains speed as things click and we find our groove. But we aren’t careful, it can take a turn for the worst. So you must intentionally make sure you take a break. At first I planned to take a few days off. Then it began to turn into weeks.

There is something freeing about limiting how much you accomplish. Which is odd, wouldn’t you say? Freedom is found through limitation.

I heard a great story the other day about a little girl who wanted to play with a scorpion. Her dad pulled her away immediately when he saw it. She viewed this as a limitation. He viewed it as freedom. So I will be continuing my quest for freedom from the noise by posting diligently, yet not daily. I hope you will continue to come back and add to the discussion when you can too.

Who knows, you might experience freedom too.

Here is our final verse this week. This is the very essence of HOPE and the reason I get out of bed each day. This is what real hope is:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

— John 3:16

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

— 1 Peter 3:15

This week we will be blogging on hope in honor of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Hope for Life campaign. You can watch the trailer I did, here.

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

—Phillipans 1:20

And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

— 1 Corinthians 15:19-20

EPIC!

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief
And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh surely we can change

— David Crowder

One of the things that has always amazed me is how churches can be so political. Politics always gets in the way of serving God. I once served in a church as a youth pastor. It was an eye-opening experience. Research shows that 85% of people accept Jesus into their life between ages 4 and 14. This was why I entered student ministry at the time. Sadly, though, the youth budget was 1% of the entire church budget and this is often common for most traditional churches.

Know your priorities
If you claim to be evangelistic and your churches doesn’t fund the areas that need it most, then you need to rethink your priorities. I believe no youth ministry should ever have to beg for money by doing a bake sale. God funds His church with the tithe and this is to cover everything He has called us to do. If there isn’t enough money to go around to all your ministries, then you need to cut something.

Cut your ministry
I get really frustrated churches that go on and on about how many ministries they have in their church. A church we visited in our town recently told me they had almost 20 different ministries. They have close to 200 people. That’s roughly 10 people working per ministry IF everyone served. Instead it’s more likely that each ministry has an average of two people serving. How effective is that?? It’s time to cut your ministries and let God redefine how you do ministry in your community. In order to be effective with the Gospel, you must focus on relationships, not programs.

I will be going on a few tangents this week because I have some passionate thoughts for the church world. I doubt anyone will read this, but if you are reading, I sincerely hope you can take a look at what you do, the purpose behind it, and check your priorities.